Hiking Las Vegas Blog

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What is a 53er?

It might be helpful to explain what a 53er is and it has nothing to do with age!A 53er is a hiker who is a member of the 52 Peak Club that has climbed/hiked all 52 Peaks around Las Vegas. List of all 52 the peaks.

There are three main pieces of equipment a beginner needs to buy if they want to safely take up rappelling (Abseiling).

1. Harness - there are many different types of harnesses on the market. For beginners a simple canyoneering type harness is adequate for basic rappels.

The harness attaches your body to the rope with the help of a carabiner and a device.

​Virtually all harnesses go around the person's waist via a waistbelt and has two leg loops. The hareness is secured with a buckle that the thin part of the waistbelt is threaded through.You can get a basic harness for around $60.

​What is a 53er?

It might be helpful to explain what a 53er is and it has nothing to do with age!A 53er is a hiker who is a member of the 52 Peak Club that has climbed/hiked all 52 Peaks around Las Vegas. List of all 52 the peaks.

Ernesto is from Bisbee, Az, a small mining town. He had many jobs from miner, bouncer, bartender, truck driver, computer programmer to photographer/artist. He has been self-employed most of his life. He started long distance backpacking in 1996 and he has chipped away at the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), hiking from Tehachapi to Sierra City, north of Lake Tahoe. He hiked the John Muir Trail twice, 1996 and 2015. He is an avid photographer and he loves exploring new places with his camera.

At 64 years old he joined the 52 Peak Club to discover new places and meet new hikers. His favorite peaks are: Bridge Mountain, Mescalito and Lost Creek Peak.He feels Black Velvet Peak was his toughest peak, mainly because of the descent.

He felt elated when he became a 53er. No wonder. To become a 53er means you hiked 300+ miles and gained over 120,000 feet in elevation!

His advice for new hikers is: Test the rock, know your limitations and have fun. It is also good to get a different type of workout between hikes. For him, it was volleyball, weights and elliptical.